The objectives of the proposed Training Program are to provide advanced research training in the subdisciplines of Communication Sciences and Disorders to ten predoctoral and ten postdoctoral fellows (i.e., two new predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees will begin the program each year with the expectation that each will be supported for two years). This program is also intended to address the critical shortage of academic researchers in speech, language and hearing research, by drawing trainees from a very broad range of academic disciplines (i.e., including Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, and Speech, Language, and Hearing). During the training period, trainees will complete a range of required courses, participate in a weekly research symposium, and will complete a lab rotation that complements their research focus area. These activities have been selected to broaden the trainees' understanding of the full continuum of health research (i.e., from basic research through implementation of clinical practice). Trainees will integrate broadly into the community of researchers at Boston University in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and will also participate actively in national scientific conferences. The Training Faculty supporting this Training Program includes a very broad range of NIH-supported academic researchers focused on speech, language and hearing research. Key outcomes include the full range of accomplishments anticipated for high-achieving pre- and postdoctoral scholars: contributions to peer-reviewed manuscripts, application for federal research (e.g., NIH NRSA mechanisms) and/or training support, active participation in national or international scientific conferences, and eventually, employment by research universities with high levels of research activity.